Saturday, October 19, 2013

"I have no idea how this lamp fell on the ground since I've been sleeping the whole time"

...he makes us laugh at the weird things he likes to do....

...he's a great hunter...

....and the best place in the house to sleep is the place that is not intended for cats!

Other things we've learned about him in the year that we've had him:

1. He's not a lap cat, and really never has been. He likes to be in the area that his people are in - if Michel's in his man cave, Ninja's on his cat tree; if I'm in the living room, Ninja is laying somewhere within view of me.

2. If he doesn't get to go outside, he will drive you crazy!! Luckily, the house we bought had a small pet door installed in our back door that Ninja fits through very well, so when the weather is nice, we're at home, and it's daylight outside the cat door is open for him to come and go as he pleases. The 3 days this week that it rained, I kept the door shut and he drove me crazy because he had so much energy pent up. I played with him some, but it wasn't enough for him.

3. He's a sweet, loyal cat. When I was pregnant, Michel and I would go for a walk several mornings a week. Ninja would go out the front door with us, walk with us until we passed the neighbor's yard, then he would turn around and go back to our house where he laid on the front porch until we got home. Once we got home, he would walk with us to the front door. He wouldn't always go back in the house, but it's like he wanted to make sure we got in safely (at least that's what I tell myself!).

4. He's most affectionate at night! During the day, he's a you-can-pet-me-if-you-want-but-I-don't-really-care-either-way kind of cat. In the middle of the night, though, he demands that you pet him, scratch his chin, etc. I've perfected the art of feeding Audrey a bottle with one hand so that I can pet him with the other. The middle of the night is also about the only time we hear him purr. He gets loud!

5. I always tell Michel that 95% of the time he is the sweetest cat ever; the other 5% he's a big toot! Just recently, he learned how to open the kitchen cabinets. I went to small group on Wednesday night, and when I came home 2 of the kitchen cabinets were open....someone got bored and mischievous while home alone :)

6. He sees feet as play toys! I don't really consider him to be a "biter", but if he hasn't had enough play time, or enough time outside he will nip at your feet. Most of the time he never bites hard enough to break the skin, and definitely not enough to make you bleed, but there have been a few times where he's just got so much energy that he does bite harder than usual and will draw blood. It's never out of meanness, though, and I've never seen him do it to anyone besides Michel or me.

7. He doesn't really care one way or another about Audrey. When she's on the floor he'll come and sniff her, but isn't too interested in her. Maybe when she gets older and can interact with him he'll care, but it doesn't bother me that he's not interested in her. I'm just glad he doesn't view her as a threat.

8. He's a big sissy! If another cat comes in our yard, or the neighbor's dog is barking in their yard (and their dog is about Ninja's same size, if not smaller!) he comes running through the cat door - usually with his tail all fluffy.

9. He's not vocal at all. My 2 cats I had growing up always meowed at us when they wanted something; we hear Ninja meow maybe once a day.

10. Without meaning to, we've put him on a schedule! He knows when it's his dinner time (we leave dry food out for him all day, but usually around 5 or 6 we put out a plate of wet food for him, and he LOVES the wet cat food, so around 4:30 he starts hovering around the kitchen. Even if you walk in the kitchen to get a glass of water and it's close to time he normally gets fed, he'll start weaving himself in between your legs, rubbing his head all over you, and trying to be cute in hopes that he'll get some food out of it. :)

I'm glad we picked him from the shelter! We hadn't intended on getting a kitten (he was about 3-4 months old when we adopted him) because kittens are so energetic, and we went looking for a grown cat, but we saw him, played with him for a bit, and just decided he was the cat we wanted, and I'm so glad. He's really a great fit for our family!!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Today marks four years since the day that I said "I do" to my sweet husband! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone! I've been bragging about him all day on Facebook because I do want the world to know what a terrific husband, and now daddy, he is. He is selfless, funny, godly, sarcastic, a hard-worker, wonderful provider for his family, and I feel so richly blessed to be his wife!

We did our true celebration this year on Friday, October 11th because it was the only time we could work it out for someone to babysit Audrey for us. So we went out to eat at Macaroni Grill and then got dessert at Braum's (my favorite)! It was really nice just going out, the two of us, and not having to worry about feeding Audrey, putting her down for bed, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly, but it was nice to go back to being just husband and wife rather than parents (when I re-read this it still sounds like I don't like my role as a parent which is not the case at all!).

Tonight, for our actual anniversary, it was very low-key. We spent most of the day in our pjs. Michel grilled us a delicious ribeye steak on the grill outside, we made a baked potato, and enjoyed some Blue Bell ice cream while watching The Big Bang Theory on DVD! Audrey was supposed to be taking a nap during our dinner time, but she had other plans, so we just brought her to the living room with us where she vegged out in her swing (which is one of her new favorite things). Not the most exciting anniversary, but I was with two of my favorite people, and there was nowhere else I would have rather been!

Looking back we have made so many incredible memories! In the four years that we've been married we have gone on the MOST wonderful cruise...

...spent 10 days in Oahu, Hawaii...

...welcomed our nephew...

...practiced our parenting skills on our niece and nephew...

...bought a house...

(which I can't find my picture of)

...adopted a cat

Awww...I forgot how little he was!

...and most importantly we have welcomed a sweet little girl into our lives!

It's been an amazing 4 years together, and look forward to many, many more!!

October 17, 2010

October 17, 2011

October 17, 2012 (for some reason when I tried to caption the picture itself, the picture moved...weird)

And finally October 11, 2013 (this is the first year we couldn't celebrate on our actual anniversary because we had to do it at a time when we had a babysitter! We've never needed one in the past!)

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Wow, I cannot believe that this sweet girl has already been in our lives for one month! She truly is a joy to be around and her daddy and I love her so much! Here are a few things that we've learned about her in her first month of life :)

Length: 21 inches (this is an estimate because I just laid her on the couch and measured her from head to toe)

Sleep: She generally sleeps 2ish hours between feedings during the day (we're currently struggling with this this week because Audrey has started doing everything in her power to NOT let herself fall asleep even though we will put her in her crib 90% asleep, and sometimes all the way asleep. We then have a very fussy baby on our hands). However, at night she is always ready to go to sleep immediately and goes down for her bedtime at 8:30ish, and then Michel feeds her at 11, and then I feed her at 3, 5:30, and start our day at 8 a.m.

Eating: She definitely hit a growth spurt earlier this week because she went from eating 2-3 oz every 2-3 hours to eating 3-4 oz every 3 hours!!

Clothes: She's still wearing newborn sizes, but some of them are getting really snug in the length. She still has plenty of room to grow through the waist.

New achievements of the month:
- She has definitely gained better muscle control from when she was a newborn! She has a bit more control of her hands and arms.
- As soon as the bottle nipple comes into view her mouth is automatically open!
- I don't know if it's possible, but I swear she has smiled at Michel and me purposefully.
- She makes great eye contact sometimes! (about 50-75% of the time you're talking to her she'll look at you)
- When placed on her tummy, she *can* turn her head from side to side. It's still a difficult task for her, though, and she won't do it every single time. She did it today, and then fell asleep because it was such hard work for her - it was so stinkin' cute!

Things she likes:
1. Her musical lion picked out for her by her cousin, Zane
2. Her duck rattle bought by her Nana and Granddaddy
3. Having her hands by her face
4. Her pacifier (this has been a lifesaver ever since we discovered she liked it)!
5. Being held - pretty sure someone could hold her all day and she would be perfectly content!

Things she doesn't like:
Apparently she doesn't like being in the car with Mommy driving (no rude comments about this!) because she always falls asleep when Daddy's driving, but each time I've taken her out somewhere she fusses. Go figure...

Other randomness:
1. Her umbilical cord stump FINALLY fell off last Sunday! She was 3 weeks 5 days old, and I was getting impatient even though the doctor said we didn't need to worry about it until she was 6 weeks old. I was so glad that it fell off on its own!
2. She pees and poops like a champ!
3. I have been peed on countless times - not to where it's gotten on me, but in between taking off the dirty one and putting on a clean one she has started peeing or pooping and I rush to cover her with a diaper or wipe so it doesn't get everywhere! Yesterday, she started peeing and I had the clean diaper on her, but not covering her, and she started peeing and it shot out like a fountain. I had no idea little girls were capable of that - I thought only boys could!
4. She's the cutest baby EVER!!! OK, I know everybody rightfully thinks their baby is the cutest one ever, but I just had to add it in. I could look at her sweet face all day.

5. I love her sweet coos and goos as she attempts to talk to Mommy and Daddy. It's precious!

She really is a sweet baby, and we're so blessed that she's happy and healthy! We've loved having her in our lives, and I'm so looking forward to the upcoming holidays with her!

Just in case you missed her newborn photo shoot on Facebook, here are a few of my favorites. :)

I think this is my absolute favorite!!

This is her Halloween "costume"! I know it's not a true costume, but I thought this was too cute!

I can't wait to see how much she grows and changes in her second month of life!